See Ya Back!

Winnie said, "See ya back!" for the longest time when she was saying goodbye to people leaving our home. Just in this past week, she's corrected it to, "see you soon!" There will be no posting for a couple weeks on this blog, because the kids and I are heading to Conway for a week and a half! I am so excited to be home for that long. Weekends at home just aren't enough! Well, maybe I can convince Andy to take photos and post about his man weekend at the farm, but that is doubtful. See ya back!

Cousins

Some cute photos from W's birthday weekend with her cousins. She LOVES them! I asked her today who her friends were, and she said, "Remi, Finn, Rafferty, Beau, Rush, Missy." Ha! Love it. The list changes every time, but her cousins are usually on it.

Remi and Winnie being little girls together. They seemed like mini-girls, talking and playing and fussing over the baby dolls.

Finn took such good care of Winifred at the zoo. He held her hand every second, if he wasn't carrying her...

Happy Days Are Here Again

I do not like winter. I mean, HATE winter. Christmastime is it's only redeeming quality. I feel like the winter up here goes on and on and on. Welcome Spring! I am happy again! The weather's pretty mild right now, but you will never hear me complaining of the heat. It could be 110 degrees outside, and I'll be as happy as a clam. We have been spending as much time as possible outside this past week. Yesterday, we went to Citygarden in the very late afternoon after everyone had napped. Rush had mixed feelings about his first "in the grass" moment (see that face in the photo) but loved the water fountains. I think Winifred enjoyed being the resident "expert" and showed him the ropes. The photos are terrible, as I forgot my camera (as usual) and it was really sunny outside.

Seriously, he could not look less impressed. My little city boy.

I feel like I have this same picture in about 6 different swimsuits.

Rush getting in on the action.

We have been noticing them doing more and more together, which we love.

So cute!

Winifred's Springtime Birthday Party

We celebrated W's 2nd Birthday with a party at our loft with our family and friends. Here are some photos of the day!

This was Winnie's super-serious face during the Happy Birthday song...

Some of the decorations...



The favor bags were so cute...

Winnie was a bit timid at first, and used a balloon as a security blanket...

Sweet Teddy...

Campbell...

Finn took a liking to my Dad...

Rafferty with balloons...

All Stuffed Cats Go To Heaven

We had a family fun day on Tuesday. Andy got home from Indianapolis (Yay Duke!) after lunch, so he didn't go back to work so that we could all spend time together. We went to the zoo and had dinner at Chevys. When we were loading up to leave the zoo, I realized that Winnie's "Cat" was no longer with us. (That's the cat in the photo. Isn't it cute?!) She and Rush had been passing her back and forth and it was dropped somewhere at the zoo. It was closing time, so all we could do was check with lost and found. It wasn't there. For most people in the world, that is where this story would end. But I am not most people.

I was upset about it all night. I couldn't sleep. I decided I would get to the zoo the next morning right when it opened and find that Cat. It had not been turned in, so I thought that I would just retrace our steps and call it a day. Still, no cat. Warning: this is where the story takes a tragic turn. I had an out-of-body breakdown at the zoo. It started with me retracing our steps about 4 times. Then going on every path in the zoo. Then peeking in trash cans. Then looking in zoo golf carts. I was so upset...I was crying and praying out loud and my hair was getting big and frizzy. I was breathing heavy from jogging a double stroller with 55 pounds of baby in it all over the zoo. But it gets worse...I soon start sifting through trash cans. And looking in the animal exhibits (because I convinced myself that some punk teenager threw W's stuffed cat into the bear or lion exhibit as a joke). And asking every worker if they had seen it and showing them a photo from my iPhone. I tearfully told the woman at the Ranger's Base that the cat was like a member of our family. I'm sure she was thoroughly freaked out.

Well, three hours later, we returned home with no Cat. I am going to buy a replacement tomorrow. You might be thinking I am crazy, which I am, but it is somewhat understandable. I've had this Cat since I was pregnant with Winnie. Rush has a matching Dog. She takes Cat on all of our walks, car rides, and carries him around the house. Several times a day, I hear her saying "I love you Cat. You are so cute!" and giving it a hug. She always finds her Cat and goes to get Rush his Dog. It is just a sweet little thing that I am as attached to as she is. I am attached to all of her dolls and animals, though. She doesn't have too many so she truly loves what she does have. Cat, Baby Bear, Abby, and Baby Stella are her "friends," and I can't go to bed at night until they are all cozy. I cringe thinking of them being face-down in the toy box or all alone on the floor. I group them together and make sure they are all face up. So you can understand why I would be dashing around the zoo in an emotional state of panic and grief. Or maybe you can't...but I had to fight the urge to go back this morning. I am crying right now.

2

Winnie is two. Two whole years. I cannot believe it....time just keeps on flying. She is this little climber, talker, swinger, dancer, lover, and painter. To say she is opinionated and dramatic and feisty is an understatement. She is a little showboat who is just hilarious with her words, body movements, and facial expressions. She can speak in the most perfect sentences and loves to sing The ABC's and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. She is so loving...she loves hugs and kisses and will say, "I Daddy's girl. No, I'm Mommy's girl. No, I'm Daddy's girl..." She cracks herself up and loves all animals. If I am crying, she'll hug me and say, "It's okay, be happy, Momma." She is always looking for birds flying in the sky and wanting her Daddy to swing her. Right now, she is counting to 20 over and over to put herself to sleep in her crib. She is perfect for us. We just fall more in love with her every day!

Chicago

Well, I turned 31 yesterday. As a surprise, Andy sent my sister and I to Chicago for the weekend. It was a wonderful time of relaxing, shopping, visiting, sister bonding, and...eating. My family loves food, and Jenny and I love vegan (gluttony). We didn't do a great job with photos, because neither of us like photos of ourselves. But Jenny's blog includes a lot of food blogging, so we got some good shots of our meals! I missed my husband and babies terribly, but it was a much needed vacation. Andy proved himself a bit more awesome than he already was!

We started our trip off in St. Louis for lunch at my new FAVORITE place to eat here, Sweet Art Bakery. It's in the Shaw Neighborhood and is amazing. I considered the cupcakes we ate "research" for Winnie's birthday party.

Me in front of Hotel Felix, our home for the weekend. I like this hotel a lot and it is in a great location.

We spent Saturday morning with our friend Sarah and her husband, Chris. They live in Chicago.

Jenny in front of Karyn's on Green, the latest in the Karyn's restaurant family. It was beautiful and modern and delicious and was just as good as the other Karyn's spots. And surprisingly, it was showing the Duke game, so I didn't miss out on the action. Surprising because you wouldn't expect a modern vegan restaurant to be carrying the NCAA Final Four, but it was.

One of my maps...of my favorite part of Chicago. I have an iPhone and don't need to carry things like this, but I love a paper map and list and (it's cut out of the photo) a map legend. Every time I go to Chicago, I add more restaurants/stores that I like so that I won't forget. I have maps like this for a lot of places:)

My shopping loot.

And the rest of the trip just consisted of things like this....

And this....

And this...

Andy, thanks so much for such a special birthday gift!

Hair

This post is dedicated to Marietta, who loves a photo of her own hair and who will be disappointed that I cut all mine off.

Before:

After:

I was unable to take a photo of myself, so I had to use the mirror for help. That is a lot of hair gone! But, I wanted it even shorter. Next month!